The Most Desperate Thing People Will Do For Love
by lightatmidnight
Summary: "What is the most desperate thing people will do for love?" Ms. Munroe assigned that essay topic fully expecting cheesy love quote filled essays. Instead, she got two deep essays from the two people she least expected it from.


Annabeth POV:

Percy tossed a note towards me, which read, "zzzz =P" I glanced over at him for the briefest second, giving him a small smile, seeing him smile back, before acting like he was paying attention once more. I looked at my notebook, full of doodles filled with pictures of my opinion on what the new Artemis building would look like in Mount Olympus. I wish I was designing. Not at school. I mean, I know that school is important and all, but I feel like I don't learn anything anymore. The wisest learn from experiencing sometimes. Yeah mom, I went there. Never mind. I'm getting off topic.

I'd spent English class listening to my young English teacher Ms. Munroe talk about Romeo and Juliet, and how they tragically died. Gag me. They did absolutely nothing, and killed each other for love. Definitely kids of Aphrodite.

"Alright class," Ms. Munroe said. I'd analyzed her on the first day of school. Definitely not a monster. She didn't have the evil tint, and she was way too cheerful. With her platinum blonde hair let loose in ringlets all over her face and her sparkling blue eyes, she was the exact type of person I would be if I was a preppy blonde. Which I'm not.

So therefore, by logic law of modus tollens, I don't like her. She's annoying, and she always treats our class like we're some inferior beings, just because we're in highschool. If I wasn't a student, I would've smacked her in the face by now. Anyways... "You all will write a piece on what you think the most desperate thing people will do for love is."

I rolled my eyes. Stupid question. In my peripheral vision, someone raised their hand. "Ms. Monroe?"

"Yes?" she answered sweetly.

"How long does the essay have to be?"

"As long as you want."

That obviously meant she'd been too lazy to set a limit constraint, and hoped everyone would just give her a sentence and let her off the hook for the week. "Alright, begin writing," she smiled, flashing her white teeth at us.

Getting out a loose leaf paper, I concentrated. Writing wasn't as hard as reading for me, so I was in luck. What a stupid essay topic. "The most desperate thing people will do for love."

Then again, as I thought about it, I glanced over at Mark and Olivia, making doe eyes at each other. I pitied them. They had no idea what love was. I looked at Katy, who had just broken up with her 'boyfriend', and had spent half of last week moping around-before getting another 'boyfriend'.

These people all thought they were in love. Then again-was I any better? Did I have whatever love was? I'd spent years moping around after Luke, before realizing I only loved him as a brother. But I loved him. I still loved him. I looked over at Percy, who had saved me numerous times, and vice versa. And with that thought, I began to write.

Percy POV:

I tossed a note onto Annabeth's desk, before slumping back into the chair to stare at Ms. Munroe. That lady is creepy. She has these big buglike eyes, way too wide open, like she's trying to see into your soul, but comes off as a psychopath who pushes grocery carts around. I guess she's young, maybe twenty to thirty years old? But her classes feel ancient.

They just go on and on and on and on-and I'm gonna stop before I run out of room and don't get to write anymore. Annabeth read the note, and looked over to give me a brief smile, and looked back at the teacher. I shook my head. Athena kids.

"Alright class," Ms. Munroe clapped her hands together, snapping me off of my thinking train. "You all will write a piece on what you think the most desperate thing people will do for love is."

Wow.

That has got to be the stupidest essay topic I've ever heard of. And that is including the one I wrote on Sesame Street in first grade. Don't even go there. I blocked out the noise, instead trying to figure out what I was going to write.

What was there to write about? Romeo and Juliet were idiots, killing themselves for each other, when neither was actually dead. Ever hear of the human heartbeat? Gods.

Tapping Riptide on my desk absentmindedly, I saw Annabeth begin scribbling on her paper. Obviously she knew what to write about.

What was the most desperate thing I'd seen people do for love. Well, Grover jumped over six people to get to his enchiladas, but I don't think that's the kind of love Ms. Munroe was talking about.

Then I thought of my mom. And her putting up with Smelly Gabe and almost getting killed by the Minotaur. Then I thought of Annabeth helping me. Saving me. Whatever. Without her, I'd probably have been killed 5 years ago.

So I began writing.

Ms. Munroe POV:

I sighed, staring at these essays. Half of them were real bullshit, excuse my language. Maria's was all about breaking up with her boyfriend, and slamming the door in his face. Completely off topic. Anne's was good, it was well written, but it lacked understanding. She basically regurgitated the entire Romeo and Juliet play in my face.

I flipped through the pages, marking grammatical errors and missing pieces before giving the letter grade of B through E. None of them were yet good enough to be marked an A. They all lacked emotional feeling.

I checked the top of the one I was about to read. Annabeth Chase. The girl who looked at me with contempt. This should be good.

_What is the most desperate thing people will do for love? That's not something people have asked me to talk about before. Usually, it's something about a book report, or the Gulf Oil Spill that completely pissed off Posei-never mind. The most desperate thing people do for love is that they will kill themselves for you. No, not in the pathetic Romeo and Juliet sort of way. But the, kill because they have to save you sort of way. I knew a person-who did something wrong, something that would have destroyed some of our lives. But at the last minute, he changed his mind, and he saved us by killing himself. If he hadn't loved us, he wouldn't have done that. Another person I knew saved me from destroying my life. My flaw is hubris. I think I can do everything better than anyone else. My friend saved me from swimming towards my dangerous dreams. They saved me from killing myself for an illusion. The mind is truly illusion-ed, and the only way I managed to save myself was because someone else helped me. That same person helped me, going all the way across the country to find me-and save me from torture. And it's because they cared. That person cared enough to save me. So what's the most desperate thing people will do for love? They will kill themselves, or go through pain, just to save you. "A man does things he would never do-just for love," take it from the love goddess._

Had that really happened to her? Of her own experience? I couldn't help but feel my heart go out to this blonde girl with startling grey eyes. The only person I'd seen her talk to was Percy Jackson. At least, in this class. Was it possible that the two of them had truly seen some of this stuff?

Shaking my head clear of thoughts, I almost laughed at my ridiculous thoughts. Children couldn't experience that stuff. That was only in books.

I flipped to the next one, which just so happened to be Percy Jackson's. I'd been amazed when I'd read his resume for past schools. Kicked out of every school in consecutive years except for this one. Blew up a couple. I fully expected a rough housing gun bearer. Instead, I saw a rather handsome sixteen year old, with ever changing green eyes and messy black hair.

So maybe he didn't pay attention all the time in class, and his average was usually either a B- or a C, he didn't seem like the dangerous type. Sometimes, I really didn't understand children. Even if I was only 28 myself.

I read his essay with curiosity.

_The most desperate thing people do for love. That kinda stuck on me. See, I don't really think about it much, and I've never exactly had a conversation with love, more as-love's representative. You probably didn't get that. But it's okay. You wouldn't, it's kind of an inside joke. The most desperate thing people do for love is put up with things the absolutely hate-just to save the person they love. My mom had me young, so she never really got a chance to live her own life. She remarried, but not because she loved me. She was trying to protect me. From an outward force that would eventually get to my life. And it did. But she prevented it for 12 years. She almost got killed, protecting me. I have a friend, who's saved my life at least ten thousand times. Without her, I'd probably not be here right now, writing down this stuff. I'd be down in-never mind. She's kept me from falling off a cliff, walking into stupid traps, and other stuff I can't even remember, but I'm grateful for. She put herself in harms way just to keep me from killing myself. The most desperate thing people will do for love is do things they don't even like-just because it will come out as a benefit for the other person._

Goodness. These two sure went through a lot. My gut feeling told me that the girl Percy was talking about was Annabeth, and vice versa. Marking down an A on each paper, I smiled. Maybe it was all made up, but the feelings were there. Things that had been lacking in other essays were all there in these two.

The most desperate thing people will do for love.

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A/N: What'd you guys think? It was kinda fun to write, I got the idea randomly, rerererererererereading Percy Jackson. Anyways, gonna go to NYC next week, hoping to meet up w/ Percy and Annabeth (haha). Tell me what you thought through a review. Lots of Love-Catherine


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